CJJE

It's easy to check that the latch is moving freely when the fuel flap is open. Mine seems OK, but I gave it a squirt of graphite to lubricate it just in case.

Mine has done the same a couple of times, and when I reported it to my dealer they said they would update the software to prevent it happening again. As it only happened twice over several months it's too early to say if they have cured it. The main reason my car was booked in was to cure the false travel assist warnings, which is now the subject of 'service campaign' 48S5. As that seemed to be temperature related to me, and had already stopped happening in June, again it's to early to say how successful it's been.

The seals are not completely water tight anyway, and there are drain 'pipes' at each corner to let rain water out. So I'd say it is mostly a cosmetic problem (unless it gets attacked again?) Chris

OK, I've had a phone call from my friendly Skoda salesman, enquiring whether I'm thinking of P/Xing my 2 1/2 year old Karoq yet. I presume they're looking for people whose lease deals are close to ending, but in my case his records should tell him that I specced the car as a factory order, and bought it for cash with a 5 year warranty! (My practice is to keep my cars for at least 5 years, and usually more.) And if he checked with his service department he'd know I'd driven less than 10,000 miles last November. He was very eager to tell me about the special deals he could arrange, so they must be having a sales push. But even if my wife would let me change cars so soon, he can't replicate the extras on my car such as the 360 degree Area View, or the Race Blue paintwork! Chris

I'd be wary about mixing all-season and summer tyres, and always prefer to change all 4 tyres at the same time to have the same make and type.

Interesting. The Skoda Connect portal is still offering me updates at £36 and £44 for each of the two services, while I thought the 'official' price was £55 and £65. But I can't find the higher prices quoted anywhere now so perhaps it is always £36 and £44. I prefer to use the car's satnav rather than my phone, but in your case (and if like me you ignore the voice control gimmick) then I agree you probably don't need the online info licence. Chris

My car is booked in to get this fault rectified again, after having had one new steering wheel fitted 18 months ago. But I have just discovered this Skoda Australia website VIN Checker | ŠKODA Australia (skoda.com.au) that will tell you if your car has any recalls or service campaign request due. To my surprise when I entered my UK car's VIN it told me there was a service campaign / recall number 48S5 overdue! This was issued on 05/04/2023 (not clear whether this was the 5th of April or 4th of May) and concerns the S-Assistance Systems camera control unit. (I will be mentioning this to my dealer when I take my car in to make sure they are aware of it.) As this is one of the sensors that can trigger the Travel Assist fault, perhaps they are now patching the software rather than replacing steering wheels? Chris

My understanding is based on a MIB3 Karoq, and is that: - the eCall emergency service is provided for the life of the car. - the Proactive services are provided for the first 10 years (with no indication of how they can be renewed after that). These include Breakdown calls, Info calls, vehicle health reports, service scheduling, online personalisation and online system updates. - the Care Connect (remote access) service is renewably annually after the first year, with no indication that a break in renewals stops you buying it again later. This sends data to the Skoda Connect portal and phone app such as driving data, your last parking position, whether your car is locked and windows and doors closed, if your car has been driven outside a specified area, or over a specified speed, or if the car alarm is triggered. You can also send a signal to the car to lock the doors (if you have validated your online account a a dealer) or honk the horn and flash the lights, and generate a digital certificate confirming your car's identity, specification, mileage and service history. Note: I find it very useful to get a signal on my phone when the alarm is triggered as otherwise I don't know the car's lights are flashing outside. This happens seems to happen occasionally when a moth sets off the internal movement alarm overnight! But if you just want the driving data on your phone, you can get this by plugging a dataplug into the car and using the free Connect Lite app. - the Connect (infotainment online) service is also renewed annually after the first year, independently of the remote access service, and provides the voice control service, online traffic updates and online map updates as well as the details of parking places and petrol stations. It also uses online traffic data when calculating your best route, and lets you send a destination from your PC or phone to your car. Both Connect services seem to be offered at a discounted price in the summer, and extend your current licence by a year. Last year I renewed my licences for £36 and £44 respectively rather than the standard £55 and £65 I would have had to pay when they expired in November. Chris

Sorry can't help you then. Presumably the software is seeing individual music files, but I don't know of any setting that will let it jump instantly to the next track. Chris

Did they play continuously from the same SD card before, or were you playing them from the CD previously? I know that iTunes will insert a gap when it saves music files to a card, to denote the end of one track and the start of the next. Chris

I think you misunderstood my message. Driver Assistance systems are not an NCAP requirement as such, but are needed to get 5 star ratings. So consumers have the choice - they can buy Dacias etc which don't fit any, but get 1 star ratings or go for cars which have higher safety ratings. Most manufacturers want to see their cars getting higher ratings as this generates more sales, so market forces encourage them to provide the assistance systems. Insurance companies also increase their premiums for cars with lower NCAP ratings, which is another driver as customers want cars with cheaper insurance. My car has traffic sign recognition built in, which works when signs have the required design and are clearly visible. But they will not be recognised when they just show numbers or are hidden by overgrown trees etc. Clearly no manufacturer can accept responsibility for councils not maintaining their signs, or using signs saying "20 when light is flashing".

Travel Assist in my car seems to be no more than the Adaptive Cruise Control linked to Lane Assist - perhaps with a stronger pull on the steering wheel from the Lane Assist. But I rarely use either anyway. Yes there is a general move towards more driver assistance, driven by the NCAP safety star system and insurance companies, so I doubt that manufacturers will produce a special software for the UK without these features regardless of Brexit. Even British manufacturers will met EU standards because that is the biggest market, and one they can't ignore without losing sales. But I also dread cars thinking they know what the speed limit is and driving at it because my car's traffic sign detection rate is so poor. Unless councils are forced to ensure speed limit signs are not overgrown by trees, not pointing the wrong way, etc cars will not see the signs. And mine often detects speed limits applying at to a joining road at a junction as the one it should follow. They of course cannot read signs saying '20 when the light is flashing' or overhead gantry signs where just a number is displayed. I let my car show me what it thinks the last speed limit is on the instrument panel, but the warning beep when I drove at the correct speed was so infuriating that I've turned it off.

Here's hoping then! Your comments agree with my suspicions about the cause, and perhaps warmer weather will dry my steering wheel out. If not I'll try a hair dryer 😀 Chris

I don't have one in mine, but think they need shaped supports in the side panels of the boot to work? A friendly dealer might let you try one from a showroom car before you order one to confirm its possible. Otherwise, there have been various threads showing how to make up a support frame around the boot to hold the floor higher up.

An update. The intermittent warnings disappeared last spring and were fine until December 2022. They then returned very intermittently, (without the Lane Assist Unavailable and other error messages that came with it in 2021), and seemed to be triggered by turning sharply into parking bays etc. Over the winter they occurred once or twice a month, and always disappeared on their own after a single beep. But now they're getting more frequent again, and clearly aren't linked to using the heated steering wheel. The Lane Assist camera and adaptive cruise control sensors seem to be working fine, so I'm convinced it's down to the capacitive sensors in the steering wheel which are designed to detect you releasing the steering wheel (and also trigger the Emergency Assist should the driver pass out!) It's booked in to my dealer for a day's investigation next June (which is the earliest they could provide a courtesy car! There have also been some other electronic glitches. Once or twice the trip odometer in the digital instrument panel has reset itself at around 150 miles or so, and the digital instrument panel itself once lost my preferred setup with a live map in the centre. Chris

The volume control seems to be working like it does for traffic announcements and sat nav guidance, and preserves the chosen volume for each application, regardless of the radio or media volume. Once it's been set for each application that is.

A Bolero doesn't have sat nav, and the same system with sat nav is the Amundsen.

Re satnav: a typical residential post code covers quite a wide area, so the satnav is just pinpointing its centre. I've found entering the address I want in simple English (120 Badminton Road Stafford for example) will take me to my required destination. (Note the quoted address is fictitious so don't expect it to work ) I have never had to make or receive a call in my car, so can't help you on answering a call. But I think other threads have mentioned a button you push to accept a call.

The 2020 Sportline only uses a WY16W bulb for the rear indicators, and a W16W for the reversing light. All others are LED clusters. Chris

My trip odometer resets itself occasionally, so I've given up relying on it to calculate my MPG. The readings in the central display of MPGs also resets but the overall odometer isn't affected.

If your phone has QI charging, and you have the QI Phone Box, it also shows that your phone is being charged.

There seem to be major problems at Emden according to this report: Dealers complain new VW, Audi and Porsche cars stuck in huge German port backlog – Car Dealer Magazine and of course Skoda also use this for shipments to the Midlands and north, as well as VW, Audi etc! So just getting your car built, may not guarantee an early delivery! Chris

In mine the battery type is printed inside the key fob itself. And I change them annually to avoid problems.

I went for the 2.0 TSI 4x4, on the basis that I only drive less than 10,000 miles a year now, so the extra fuel consumption wouldn't be too disastrous. In practice I get around 35 mpg on shopping trips and 40+ on longer journeys. I don't off-road, but the 4x4 prevents wheelspin on icy or damp roads and feels very reassuring. It also seems to be balancing out the tyre wear for me as all wheels are being down at the same rate. Mine squeaked under the £40k boundary as I bought it back in 2020 (despite the many visits to the option list!).

Does it need you to have a valid Connect licence perhaps? And if so have you renewed it? Chris